Trolley-wheel.



CHARLES r. winsoiv, oFiiinooKLYN, NEW YORK.

TROLLEY-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907'.

Application tiled May 18, 1906. Serial No. 317.525.

T0 (eZ/f wil/mit t 7am/y concern:

Be it known that l, Cimnnns F. ViLsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful lmprovennmts in TrolleylV heels, of which the lollowing is a full, clear, and exact specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the reference characters marked thereon.

. My present invention relates to the construction of trolley-wheels, especially such as are employed on railway cars l'or contacting with the overhead wire and for taking the current from said wire and transmitting it to the electric motor by which the vehicle is propelled.

' The principal objects ol' this invention are the provision of means for maintz'iining a constant and uniform lubrication el the bearing as the wheel turns upon its arbor or shai't, `means for Afacilitating the introduction ol' a supply ol" the lubricating material into a chamber or cavity with which the wheel is provided, and a simple, cheap and, el'l'icient form of bushing whichv will facilitate a uniform distribution of the lubricating material Aupon the arbor or shaft and which will e'll'ectually eon'line such material at the union ol' the bushing and. the sides of the wheel.

To accomplish all of the foregoing objects and to secure other and further advantages in the matters ol construction, operation and use, my invention involves certain new and useful peculiarities of construction, relative arrangements er combinations oll parts, and certain additions to the wheel, as a ill be herein vfirst fully described and then pointed out in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings vforming part of this specilication, Figure l is a side elevation and Fig. 2 a vertical section and elevation of my in'iproved wheel, the latter view being taken on a plane through line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the interior removable Ilubricating distributer, the same being det-ached vfrom the other parts.' Fig. l is a plan view showing the form of blank l'rom which the improved bushing is made. Fig. is a side elevation of the bushing completed and ready 'for application, the same being shown detached lfrom. the other parts.

In all these ligures like reference characters, wherever they occur, are employed to indicate corresponding parts.

A and A1 are the side. plates, which, together with the bushing or hub, constitute the trolley-wheel. The side plates are preierably made ot cast metal and they are threaded, as at e, so that they may be screwed together and thus securely united one with the other. At l) and l are lugs or projections convenient for the application ola wrench or spanner to facilitate the turning ol the parts up to their linal seating. To insure against the possibility ol the side plates unscrewing one or more screws or rivets, as at c, c, maybe passed through Vl'rom one side to the other, and these will need to be removed before the side plates can be separated, but their employment is not essential.

The side plates are so'formed as to leave between them a cavity, represented at B, B, of sullicient capacity for containing an. abundant supply of lubricating material of any desired character, such as oil, or grease, or plumbago, etc. This lubricating material may be inserted in the cavity before the parts of the wheel are 'finally assembled lor use. ln case it be desirable to inject lubricating material into the cavity B while the wheel is mounted in place for use, I may supply the wheel with a small orifice, as at d, the same being closed by an interior stopper acted upon by a light spring, as e, the ell'ect oi which will be to keep the ori'lice d normally closed. The stopper may be forced away Vfrom its seat by the nozzle ol an oiler introduced at the ori'lice d and will automatically close as soon as the nozzle is withdrawn.

The hub or bushing is represented at C. For purposes ol my invention the hub is perforated at various points between the side plates, as at f, f, to permit the lubricating material to pass from the cavity in the wheel to the bearing lor the arbor or shalt and to" insure the distribution of the material along the bearing. It is also slightly beveled at the ends so as to make tight joints with the side walls; and to make the hub easily, quickly, cheaply and o't durable material, it is formed up out of rolled brass, bronze or other' suitable rolled material, the same being 'lirst perforated as indicated and provided with margins slightly beveled, as indicated at g. This material, of width corresponding with the length of the hub, is cut up into blanks, one ot which is represented in Fig. 4 in llat position, one end of the blank being cut to a point'at about the central line and in inclined directions and the other end being cut with a IOO lIO

corresponding re-entering angle suitable for receiving the sharp or pointed end when,

7L, through which opening some of the lubrieating material 'will find its way from the interior chamber or cavity ofthe wheel to the bearing. This open joint, as will be perceived, extends from about the middle of the hub toward the ends, and the material which passes through the joint is thus distributed from the center toward the ends and every part of the bearing must therefore receive some of the lubricating material. By this construction it is impossible for the lubricating material to be confined to any one portion of the bearing. i

Vhile the trolley-wheel is in motion, rotating rapidly as it does upon the trolley wire, the centrifugal action causes the lubricating material to be projected into the outer portion of the cavity and as far as possible from the hub or axis of rotation. Then when the wheel stops, the lubricating material naturally flows around the walls of the cavity and down to the lo'wermost portion of the wheel, thus escaping contact with lthe hub, especially after the material becomes reduced in quantity. I have therefore devised means for causing some of the lubricating material to gravitate down upon the hub as soon as the centrifugal action has ceased. In the form shown herein this means consists of a metallic disk, represented at D. The disk is preferably of thin sheet metal of which the margin i is to be clamped between the two side plates all around and at, the outer part of the interior cavity. The disk is provided with a number of fingers or points extending from the outerportion toward the center and made of length and size sufficient for the purposes intended. These fingers are bent out or away from the general plane of the disk so as to reach toward various points of the hub, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and over the lines of perforations through the hub, but they do not necessarily contact with the hub as theymight terminate a short distance from its surface.

l/Vith the distributing disk in place, when the wheel is arrested, the material which would otherwise naturally follow along the walls of the interior cavity, finds its way from the uppermost portion down the disk and one or more of the fingers thereof, and thus finds its way to all parts of the perforated bushing. As the Wheel practically never stops twice in succession at the same point, the lubricating material is certain to be fed to the bearing throughout its entire extent.

The sides of the wheel are centrally perforated to lit closely upon the beveled `ends of the hub, and when the parts are firmly screwed together the lubricating material is prevented from escaping except through the perforations and the narrow opening in the hub.

In myA previous application, Serial No. 241,410, I have shown one form of means for conveying lubricating material from the up permost portion of the interior of the cavity of the wheel toward the central part thereof and in contact with the hub, but such means is not claimed therein.

The improved wheel being constructed as above explained is found to be cheap, reliable, durable and efficient and to admirably answer all the purposes or objects of the invention hereinbefore alluded to.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new herein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l.. In a trolley-wheel having a chamber for lubricating material, the combination with the hub and the side plates of the wheel, of a disk clamped between the side plates and arranged to convey lubricating material from the outer portion of the chamber to and in contact with the hub, said hub being perforated, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a trolley-wheel having a chamber for lubricating material, the combination vwith the hub and the side plates of the wheel, of a disk clamped between the side plates and provided with fingers and arranged to convey lubricating material from the outer portion of the chamber to and in contact with the hub, the fingers being bent and the hub being perforated, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a trolley-wheel having a chamber for lubricating material, the combination with the perforated hub having beveled ends, of the side plates of the wheel, saidside plates being arranged to be clamped together and to receive the ends of the hub and to confine the lubricating material at the ljoints betweenthe hub and side plates and at the joint between the two plates, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In a trolley-wheel having a chamber for lubricating material, the combination with the perforated hub having beveled ends, of the side plates of the wheel, said hub having a continuous, narrow opening through it for the passage oflubricating material, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

.In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES F. l/VILSON.

Vitnesses:

GEO'. A. MARSHALL, WORTH Oseoon.

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